Joel Osteen Podcast - Storing Up Mercy For Your Family | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: April 5, 2024

Everything we do impacts the legacy we’re going to leave behind. When you choose to live a life of excellence, you're not only setting yourself up for blessings—you're storing up mercy for your future generations.Your best days are still ahead, and together we can make a difference in this world with the message of God's hope and love. To give visitJoelOsteen.com/GiveHope.Your words have the power to change your life. When youSpeak the Blessing,you wake up dreams and unleash divine favor. Our April offer will show you the keys to speaking faith-filled words that invite the transformation you are looking for. Request your copy today, https://bit.ly/3TSkDQU. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of the Joel Osteen Podcast ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, it's so great to have you with us on the podcast today. We love you guys. We're praying for you and just believe you'll be blessed and encouraged. So all the best to you. God bless you. It is a joy to come into your homes. And we're just believing that 2006 is going to be a great year in your life. We're believing you're going to see God's favor like you've never seen it before.

So I hope you get that down in you and let go of the negative things that happened last year and just start this new year off a fresh and a new. And we're believing that for each one of you. So glad you tuned in. If you're ever in our area, stop by and see us. We'll make you feel right at home. But we're glad to have you. I like to start each week with something kind of funny.

And of course, these jokes I tell, most of them are not doctrinally correct, especially this one, but just to make us laugh. But I heard about this guy that was walking along the beach. And God said, son, you've been so faithful. I'm going to grant you one special wish. He said, well, God, I've always wanted to go to. Hawaii, but I'm afraid to fly. So my wish is that you'd build me a bridge across the ocean. God said, son, that's impossible. Think of the logistics of that. Now take some time and wish again.

He said, okay, God, I've been married four times and all my ex-wives tell me I'm so insensitive. So my wish is that I might be able to understand a woman. I want to know why they think like they think, why they feel like they feel. I want to know how to truly make them happy. There was a long pause and God said, do you want two lanes or four lanes on that bridge? Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have.

I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess, my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about the choices that you're making. and the legacy that you're leaving.

A lot of times when we hear the word legacy, we think about our accomplishments, how we'll be remembered, and even the money that we're leaving our family. But the Bible says we can leave something even more significant than that. It talks about how we can store up blessings of mercy or curses of iniquity.

It all depends on how we live our lives. If we choose to live a life of excellence, honoring God, taking the high road, then not only are we going to be blessed, but we are storing up mercy for our children, for our grandchildren. The decisions we make today are going to affect generations to come. We can either make it easier on them or we can make it more difficult. But the fact is, no person lives or dies unto himself. You are affecting others by the way you live, either good or bad. Your life can be a stepping stone

for your children to do greater things, or it can be a stumbling block that causes him to struggle and live in mediocrity. And every one of us has an account in heaven. By the way we live, we're either storing up these blessings of mercy

or these curses of iniquity. How do you store up mercy? By making choices that honor God. Every time you come to church, you're storing up mercy. You made a deposit in your heavenly account today. When you overlook a wrong, you forgive an offense. You're not just helping yourself.

You're making a deposit of mercy. When you tithe your income, when you help someone in need, when you resist that temptation, you just made another deposit. On the other hand, when we take the easy way out and compromise, go around with bad attitudes, with unforgiveness, holding on to addictions, all we're really doing is making the wrong kind of deposit. We're storing up curses of iniquity. And the sad thing is, our children and grandchildren will have to struggle with it.

The Bible says the iniquity of the father can be passed down for three or four generations. And some of you are struggling with things right now that have been passed down. And that will continue unless you rise up and put a stop to it. Why don't you be the one? Don't pass down. curses of iniquity by making poor choices. Now get that junk out of your account and start passing down these blessings of mercy. I think about King David. He wasn't a perfect man, but he did his best to live a life that honored God. And in Psalm 89, it talks about this covenant of mercy that David

built up. And God said, David, since you've served me, since you've done your best to honor me, I will watch after your seed, your children, your grandchildren. I will always look favorably toward them. And God went on to say, even if they make mistakes, even if they get off course, I will not give them what they deserve. I will show them mercy all because of the life that you've lived. Notice God is saying, when we make choices that honor him, he's going to watch after our children. He will always look favorably toward them. And it's interesting, David left his son Solomon millions and millions of dollars. And it's great to leave your family money.

But I believe David left him something more valuable than that. He left him this covenant of mercy. We can do the same thing. What are you storing up for your family? Blessings or curses. Mercy or iniquity. Friends, our children have enough to overcome. without having to overcome our poor choices.

Don't be selfish and just think about me, me, me. Your choices are going to affect the generations to come. Well, man, I'm too tired to come to church. I don't feel like giving. I'm not going to forgive that guy. He hurt me too badly. No, you've got to dig your heels in and do the right thing even when it's hard.

Understand you're not just coming to church, you're storing up mercy. You're not just forgiving a wrong. you're not just resisting temptation. You are making a deposit of mercy into your heavenly account. Somebody says to you, you're still volunteering at the nursing home every week? You still get up early and read your Bible, man. Your answer should be, I sure do.

I'm keeping my mercy account full. Well, you've been through a lot of trouble, man. You've been through a lot of heartache. I thought for sure you'd be all negative, bitter, mad at God. No, I know God is still in control. I know God still got me in the palm of his hand. And see, when you have that kind of attitude, you're making deposits not only for yourself, but for your descendants. Let me ask you today, what does your mercy account look like?

Is it full, half full, or have you not made any deposits in a long time? Why don't you start today? We all have areas where we can come up higher. We have to learn to lay aside the weights that are holding us back. Get out of those areas that are causing you to compromise. make these changes and then stay determined. And when you're tired and you don't really feel like doing what's right, you've got to remind yourself that you're making a deposit of mercy. I'm not just coming to church.

I'm not just giving. I'm not just trying to beat this bad habit. No, it's deeper than that. You are affecting generations to come. By your good choices, others in your family line are going to have it a whole lot easier. And not only that, when you establish this, covenant of mercy, then in your time of need, you can call in all those seeds that have been sown. A few years ago, we were going through a difficult situation. And I was praying one day,

and this just came up out of me. I said, God, you've seen all the seeds that my parents have sown. You've seen the seeds that my grandparents have sown. You've seen their life of integrity, the people they've tried to help. And God, I'm just calling in those seeds. I'm asking for your favor, not just for the life I've lived, but for those that have gone before me. You remember back in the Bible days, they used to pray to the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. It's a powerful thing to be able to look back and say, God, you remember how much my father loved you. You remember how my grandfather served you.

The Bible says a godly heritage is more valuable than a heritage of great wealth. and when you have God's mercy and God's favor on your life, it will take you further than all the money in the world. And if you don't have that today, don't get discouraged because you can be the one to start it. You can be the one to change your bloodline. And you may look back in your family history, you just see a bunch of mediocrity, addictions, bad attitudes. But thank God, the buck can stop with you. And I believe that there is a special reward. for being a first generation believer. See, I had it easy. My parents, my grandparents, they paid the

price. And if you had godly parents, you should thank God every single day. Because whether you realize it or not, your life is a whole lot better because of the seeds of mercy that they've sown. They may not have been perfect people, but they did you a great favor by living a life that honored God. Paul said in 2 Timothy, the faith I see in you, Timothy, it first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and in your mother, Eunice, and now I can see it in you. Paul was saying, Timothy, you're a third generation believer. And what I see in you, it didn't start with you. It started because you had a praying grandmother. It started because that woman honored me with her life. She stored up mercy, and it got passed down to your mother. Now I can see it on you. And the good news,

it's not going to stop with you. It's going to keep going from generation to generation. I think about my father, Daddy went to be with the Lord seven years ago this month. And I know much of the favor, much of the goodness of God that I'm seeing in my own life didn't start with me. It started with my father. Daddy stored up a covenant of mercy for our family. See, before my father, in our family line, there was just a bunch of poverty, a bunch of defeat a bunch of mediocrity. But thank God, Daddy, put a stop to all of that junk. He changed our bloodline. By the decisions he made, by the way he honored God with his life, now my children, my grandchildren, we'll all have it so much easier. See, it makes a difference to store up this

covenant of mercy. You may be here today, and like my father, everybody around you is not doing right. but I would just challenge you to don't let them drag you down, dig your hills in, and make a decision that you're going to honor God with your life anyway. I think about King Saul. He had every opportunity in the world to do what's right, but he just wouldn't do it. He wouldn't honor God with his life. And eventually, God had to take the throne away from him. But Saul's son, Jonathan, refused to follow in his father's footsteps. And I'm sure it was difficult. I mean, there's a lot of pressure when everybody around you, especially your own family, is compromising and taking the easy way out. But Jonathan, he refused to give in. He just dug his heels in, and he said, I want to live a life of excellence in spite of what I see my father doing.

And I don't know about you, but I don't want my family to have to serve God in spite of me. I want them to serve God because of me. I want to be a good example. I want to encourage them in the faith. And Jonathan just stayed on that high road. Well, one day, he and his father Saul were killed in a battle. Many years later, David was sitting around thinking about his friend Jonathan. The Bible says the memory of the righteous is blessed.

And David thought, I want to do something good for Jonathan's family. I loved him. He helped me. And I want to pay his family back in some way. Well, wonder why David thought that. I believe it was because of the covenant of mercy that Jonathan had established. When you make decisions that honor God, God will cause people to want to be good to your children, to want to be good to your descendants.

And David said to his servants, is there anyone from the house of Jonathan that I can bless? Notice he didn't say, is there anyone from the house of Saul? Saul didn't have that covenant of mercy stored up. Saul didn't live a life that honored God. and the servants said, yes, David, Jonathan has a young son. He's crippled. He's not able to walk, but he's still alive. David said, well, I want you to go find him and bring him back to the palace. I want him to live with us, to eat with us, to be a part of our family.

Now, this young man was living in extreme poverty in one of the worst places of that day, but now he's being brought to the palace to live in royalty. And I can imagine he sits down to eat. eat dinner one night. And he says, King David, why are you showing me this favor? Why have you taken me in and treated me like your own son? What did I ever do to deserve this? David says, no offense to you, but you didn't do anything to deserve this. I'm doing this because of your father, Jonathan. Your father was like a brother to me. Your father treated me with kindness, even when your grandfather was trying to kill me. Your father lived a life of excellence. That's why,

you are sitting at my table today. Friends, it makes a difference to live a godly life. It makes a difference to stay on the high road to not compromise. And sometimes it's more difficult. You may have people that are trying to pull you down, but if you'll dig your heels in

and do it anyway, the reward will be well worth it. And even if you don't do it for yourself, you should do it for your children. Think about this young man. He had no future to speak of. All the odds were against him. He was crippled. His parents had been killed. He had no money, no education. He looked like the least likely one to ever be able to make it out. But no, when somebody has

stored up that covenant of mercy, doesn't matter what the circumstances look like, God will find a way to take care of your children. I don't know about you, but this makes it easier for me to sleep at night. Our children have so much to overcome. There are so many areas we could worry about if we allowed ourselves to. But we can know that because we're doing our best, because we're keeping God first, coming to church, serving and giving, then just like David, we have established that covenant of mercy. And God has promised he's going to watch over our children, our grandchildren, our descendants to come. The scripture says, the seed of the righteous will be mighty on the earth. That means my children, your children,

they're not going to just barely get by. But because of your faithfulness, because you come to church, even when you may not feel like it, because you stand strong and resisted temptation, because you're not selfish and you reach out to others, God says your children are not going to barely get by, your seed will be mighty on the earth. That means your children are going to be leaders. They're going to excel, they're going to fulfill their God-given destiny. And I realize you don't all have children, but you have relatives, you have nieces and nephews, and you can claim this same promise that because of the life that you are living, your seed is going to be mighty on the earth. You're going to have this covenant of mercy.

And what I'm saying today is don't get discouraged in doing what's right. A lot of times it's easy to think, well, man, I've been coming to church and I don't see too much good happening in my life. I've been giving, but I'm not seeing an increase. I'm trying to beat this bad habit, but it just keeps getting to. me down, I might as well not even try. No, don't ever give up, because every time you even try, you're making a deposit of mercy. Every time you get in that car and drive to church, you're making another deposit. Every time you reach out and help that friend in need, your account is getting

more and more full. I want you to see it in a new light today. You're not just coming to church. You're not just doing a good deed. You are making an eternal deposit that can affect generations to come. Eleven years after David died, his son Solomon had just finished building the temple. And as Solomon was praying this dedication prayer, the last thing that he said was, oh God, remember the mercies of my father, David. And at that moment, the glory of God filled the temple. It was so strong that they all had to bow down. They couldn't remain standing. And you think about it, 11 years after David had been gone, when his son Solomon simply reminded God of the mercies his father had stored up, supernatural things began to happen. No doubt he touched the heartstrings of God when he said,

God, you remember how my father, David, it lived. And some of you today, just like me, you are being blessed in part because somebody went before you and paid the price. A parent, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, somebody stored up mercy for you, and now your life is much easier. Now God's showing you more of his favor. You say, Joel, I don't know if my life's that easy, but no, who knows? You may not even be sitting here today if it were not for somebody in your family line that prayed, somebody that took a stand for what's right. You may have a few problems, but think about where you could be without the mercy of God. Think about where you might be if you didn't have that grandmother that went to church every Sunday when you were growing up. No doubt, every one of us here

today had somebody somewhere in our family line that made a deposit of mercy. I don't know, it could have been 100, 200 years ago, but somebody got down on their knees and prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and now we're seeing the effects of it. See, David paid the price, and his son, Solomon, reap the benefit. Why don't you be the David in your family? Or maybe you come from a family, kind of like King Saul, where nobody will do right. Why don't you be the Jonathan in that family? As I said, there's a special reward for being a first generation believer.

All the odds may be against you. The easy thing is to just settle for mediocrity. I'm challenging you today to take a stand for what's right. Make sure you're storing up mercy for you and your family. Even in little things. You know, somebody cheat you out of it. a promotion at work. Somebody manipulates things. Well, just let it go. Don't hang on to it. Take the high road and you're making a deposit of mercy. Your friends want you to go out and compromise,

do things that you know are not right. No, take a stand. Just tell them, no, that's not for me. Make a deposit into your mercy account. Or you get up and it's time to go to church and you think, man, I need to sleep in. I'm tired. I need to break. No, dig your heels in and make an eternal deposit. And really our attitude should be too much is at stake. I may not feel like doing it, but I'm going to do it for my children. I'm going to do it for my grandchildren. I'm going to make sure I've got my mercy account full. See, it's one thing to take care of myself, to believe the best for me.

But when it comes to God watching over my children, when it comes to their success, their safety, God's showing them favor, that's a different story. Makes it easy to get up early and spend time with God. knowing that I'm making a deposit of mercy for my children. Makes it easier to resist temptation to go the extra mile knowing that those decisions are going to affect my descendants for the good. Friends, we're all storing up something. We're either leaving blessings of mercy or curses of iniquity.

23 years after David died, Solomon, his son, wasn't making very good choices. He had married all these foreign women, and now he was worshipping their idols. And God said in 1 Kings 11, Solomon, normally I would take this throne away from you. You've done evil in my sight. However, I will not do it for your father, David's sake. God was saying in effect, Solomon, you deserve judgment.

You've done wrong, but I am a loyal God. And your father, David, even though he lived 23 years ago, he stored up mercy for you. and I'm not going to give you what you deserve. Because of the life he lived, I'm going to show you mercy. Solomon eventually died, and his son Jeroboam took over the throne, David's grandson. And you would have thought he learned his lesson, but he did the same thing. He didn't honor God. And this was 57 years after David's death.

And God basically said the same thing to him. He said, Jeroboam, I should send judgment for all the wrong things you're doing. nevertheless, for my servant David's sake, I will not do it. Notice how this mercy is being passed down from generation to generation, all because one man chose to honor God. 305 years after David's death, one of his great, great, great grandchildren was on the throne of Israel, a man by the name of Hezekiah. And this evil king had surrounded Jerusalem, and it looked like Hezekiah and his people

were doomed. Looked like they didn't have a way out. Hizekiah didn't know what to do, so he just prayed. To make a long story short, an angel of the Lord showed up, and in a split second, that angel wiped out 180,000 of those enemy troops, and Hisachia's life and city and people were spared. And when it was all said and done, Hezekiah said, God, why did you do this for us? Why did you show us such favor? And God said, well, Hezekiah, there was a man. He'saqa. He was a man. He's a guy, he's He's been gone for 305 years, but this man loved me. He honored me. He served me.

And I am a faithful God. And God said, in effect, Hezekiah, I'm not doing this because of you. I love you, but I'm doing this because of a man by the name of David. He established this covenant of mercy, and I promised him that I would always honor his seed. Friends, that's the same promise that God makes to you and I. If we will keep him first place, he will make sure that our seed is always taken care of. We may not even be around, but I love thinking about the fact that the life that I live, the decisions I make this year can affect my descendants for the good for years and years to come.

And I want God to be able to say to my relatives, even 100, 200 years from now that need help, I'm not doing this for your sake, but way back, in the year 2006, there was this young, good-looking minister that lived. I'm calling it by faith, this tall, handsome young man. And God says, you know what? He wasn't perfect, but he did his best to honor me. And you know what? I'm not going to do this for your sake.

I'm doing it for his sake. How that ought to stir us up to make our lives count. Well, you say, Joel, you said, Joel, man, I came today wanting to hear about how I can get blessed, not my family, not my relatives. No, listen, you can't have one without the other. You live a life of integrity and excellence, and you will be blessed. When you honor God, his blessings will chase you down and overtake you. We talked about how an iniquity can be passed down for three or four generations. But look there in Deuteronomy 7, verse 9. It says, God is a faithful God, and he will keep his covenant of mercy with those that love him for up to a thousand

generations. That means the decisions you make this year. The fact that you even came today, the fact that you're watching a thousand generations from now, God's not going to forget that. You're making an eternal difference. And it's one thing to leave our family money. That's great. But let me challenge you to leave them something more valuable than cars and houses and real estate. Leave them a covenant of mercy. Leave them a godly heritage. And when you're tired and you kind of don't feel like reading your Bible, I don't feel like serving, I don't feel like coming to church. You've got to remind yourself that you're storing up mercy. Every time you leave this auditorium, you should say to yourself, I just made another deposit

of mercy. Every time you get up early to read your Bible, every time you help somebody you need, you should feel better right down in here, knowing that you made it a little bit easier on those that are coming after you. You are affecting your bloodline. And some of you know you need some new blood. You need some mercy. and that's why I'm challenging you to live a real life of excellence.

Remember, you never live your life until yourself. You are affecting others. And there's more to life than just building a career. That's great. But there's more to life than making money. Are you storing up any mercy? Are you taking time for your spiritual life? Come into church, serving, giving, helping others.

Make sure you've got your priorities in order. And friends, if you will do like David and establish this covenant of mercy, mercy. God promises you'll not only be blessed, but your seed will be mighty on the earth. Your children, your grandchildren, up to a thousand generations, will experience more of God's favor because of the life that you've chosen to live. Do you receive it today? I know you do. We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent. of my sins.

Come into my heart, I make you my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He's gonna take your places that you've never dreamed of. When God created the world, he did it specifically with you in mind.

He used his words, he spoke everything into existence. Light. Oceans and dry land, plants, sun and stars, animals, man and woman. Your words have that same creative power. If you want to know what you're going to be like five years from now, listen to what you're saying about yourself. You are prophesying your future. Too often, we don't realize we're defeating ourselves with our words. I'll never get healthy.

I'm not attractive. This dream's impossible. Instead of limiting your future, why don't you start blessing your future? If you'll change your words, you can change your world. I have a new book called Speak the Blessing. It will help you to speak positive, faith-filled words. There are declarations in it that you can make over your family, your health, your finances, and your future. When you get your words aligned with what God says, you'll see his favor in greater ways.

Azar, thank you for your gift of any amount to the minister. this month, we want to send you Speak the Blessing. Send your words in the direction you want your life to go. You can begin to enjoy a life filled with freedom, joy, health, success, and creativity as you discover the authority and power of speaking God's word. Yes, Speak the Blessing will unlock life-changing possibilities that are unlimited. When you declare what God says about you, I'm strong, I'm healthy, I'm favored. You are blessing your life. I hope you'll request your copy today.

Remember, you can watch the services live online every Sunday. Download our daily podcast, watch on YouTube, listen on SiriusXM. We'll keep you encouraged and inspired. Be sure to request your copy of Speak the Blessing today. Visit Joel Osteen.com or call 888-567 Joel. Our homecoming weekend is this Saturday and Sunday. Some of you have never been to Lakewood. This is a perfect time.

We'd love to meet you. We'd be honored to have you and your family.